This Is Not Happening
by MissJayne
Summary: With Gibbs assigned to protect the last person he wants to, his team try to figure out why anyone would want to kidnap Ducky's mother. Slight Jibbs, Lily!
1. Prologue

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! This was inspired by a trip to Paris last summer and a long day wandering around the Louvre. The plot bunnies were relentless._

_Dedication: To Aly, for prodding me when the going got tough._

This Is Not Happening

Chapter 1: Prologue

The oppressive darkness invaded every part of the room, shielding the redhead from any prying eyes. The building was completely silent; she was even breathing as shallowly as she could so that she did not give away her position. She was only expecting one person, but she knew from experience that it was better to be safe than sorry.

She liked the dark. It hid some of her activities. She had not even bothered to bring a flashlight with her as she knew her location like the back of her hand.

The Louvre.

A huge national museum in Paris, France. It was filled to the brim with antiquities, but it was not those she had come to see. She had seen them, a long time ago in her youth, and more recently. When she had some time to kill and she was in the area, she tended to visit for a few hours. It was her designated place to meet with others if she became separated for any reason while on an operation in Europe.

She might have been on an operation tonight, but she had not lost contact. She was here to see an old friend, someone who had passed her information for years. He had the keys to this place and knew her tastes.

Tonight, she was standing in Cour Marly, a small square with a few statues and the odd tree. A series of stone steps were behind her, reminding her that she had somewhere to run if anything went wrong.

Not that she expected it to. Still, the call from her contact had sounded a little odd. She wasn't entirely sure he had been telling her the truth when he said that he had information she urgently needed to hear. He had never lied to her before, but there was always a first time…

Footsteps. And a flashlight being waved around.

She kept her position. The museum was supposedly locked for the night, although she had disarmed all the alarms before entering. She did not want to be locked up for breaking and entering; it would be hard to explain why she had left the safety of the hotel she was staying at for the duration of her conference.

The flashlight swept the room. Instinctively, she ducked behind a statue.

Her movement gave her location away.

BANG

She winced. Why did everyone want to shoot her? Her brain had immediately worked out that there were three intruders and they definitely didn't seem to be fond of her. Her feet decided it would be a good idea to get out of the area so she darted for the steps. Going up was better than going down at this point.

Bullets continued to fly past her. Unsurprisingly, her initial thought was that someone was going to be asking a lot of questions in the morning. Her feet took her past a series of busts on pedestals. She skidded as she took a corner too fast and knocked a statue to the floor. Shrugging her shoulders, she picked up the bigger pieces and dumped them back on the pedestal.

A bullet uncomfortably close to her ear made her start running again. If she ever got out of this alive, she was going to put in a complaint to someone. Her attackers had flashlights, but she was running blind through the corridors. She was amazed she hadn't crashed into a wall yet.

Her mind was whirring, attempting to recall exactly where each exhibit was so that nothing would slow her down. The flashlights were now a little way behind her. Jumping down a flight of stairs, her knees protested, reminding her once again that she wasn't as young as she used to be. She needed to end this soon, before she did some serious damage to herself.

Time seemed to slow down as she thought. The obvious option was to go out a window, but she was on a high floor and the drop would probably kill her. Anyway, if she tried a window, the alarm would go off. Which meant she had to stay within the building. And if she couldn't run, she was going to have to hide…

Suddenly, she remembered where she was. The Egyptian wing. The place where she stood was normally very dark and it had several stone sarcophagi. If she could get inside one, she would be very difficult to find.

It took her less than thirty seconds; she thanked the adrenaline that was flowing through her system. It was cold and somehow even darker than it had been before. It was also very confined, but she did not care. If it kept her alive, she could put up with almost anything.

The clatter of feet told her that her pursuers had arrived. She tried to work out as much about them as she could from the noises they made. Two seemed to be cannon fodder, while the third hung back slightly. She found herself more worried about the third than the other two.

She fervently wished that she had thought to arm herself before she came here. Stupidly, she had assumed that her trusted contact would not betray her. If he was not already dead, she would kill him herself when she got out of here.

As someone passed close to her hiding place, she forced herself to stop breathing. Her heart pounded in her chest as her attackers tried to work out where she had gone. She had hoped that they would continue to run for a little while, thinking she was just out of sight up ahead, giving her a chance to emerge and run in the opposite direction. But her idea had failed; they knew she was somewhere close.

She heard a curse, and flinched. She knew that voice…

BANG

At first, she was convinced the shot was aimed at her, that she had been discovered. The clatter of feet leaving her location told her that something was not right. She forced herself to count to one hundred before she made a move to escape.

The alarm sounded at ninety nine.

She allowed her head to bang against the stone in front of her. Great. She knew exactly what had happened; she would have done it if the roles were reversed. She stepped out, her hand automatically reaching for the discarded flashlight on the floor.

A body was sprawled on the floor, blood staining the stone she stood on. Her attackers had shot one of their own before leaving. It meant that she was going to have to come up with an extremely good explanation for the authorities when they rescued her.

And rescue would be needed. The alarm had triggered the entire security system. Metals grilles had come down, trapping any intruder in the building, along with anything they had tried to remove.

She had a dead body, no weapon, and no way of escape.

Lily Shepard swore violently.


	2. Flight

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! _

Chapter 2: Flight

Tony DiNozzo stared at the case report. Perhaps Ziva was right; perhaps he could have finished this yesterday if he had not allowed himself to become distracted by the Internet.

It wasn't his fault that he was easily distracted by shiny things. And it wasn't his fault that the Probie had bought a box of paperclips upstairs either. Making paperclip chains was surprisingly fun. Although it was a little unnerving when a Mossad assassin toyed with one.

Still, he had enjoyed harassing the Probie whenever Gibbs had left for coffee. And it was fun to wind Ziva up, even if the consequences could be deadly. At heart she was just a girl, but he knew better than to say it aloud. He liked his head on his shoulders.

The case report continued to scare him. This was completely unfair; Ziva and the Probie had finished theirs yesterday and were now able to mess around as they had no active case. But he, he had to sit down and focus and attempt to work.

Maybe he should come up with an excuse to visit Abby or Ducky. They would take pity on him and help him out. And he could bribe the Probie to write his report for him. The only problem was that Gibbs would figure it out within seconds. It was almost as though the man was psychic.

"What happened during Gibbs' interrogation of Sanders?" Tony asked.

Ziva looked at him as though he had grown an extra head. "That was a week ago," she pointed out.

"Exactly," he replied. "I think it needs to go into my report, but I wasn't there."

"Why are you writing about something that you did not see?" she inquired.

"I was supposed to be there," he shrugged.

"Where were you?" she smirked. "On a date?"

"If you must know," he pulled himself up to his full height, as best as was possible considering that he was sitting down. "I was in the vending machine room."

"For half an hour?" McGee jumped in. "I didn't think it took you _that _long to chose."

Tony grinned. "It wasn't the chocolate that kept me. It might have had something to do with the company though."

They both looked puzzled.

"Agent Wofford was slipped some kind of hallucinogen," Gibbs announced, reappearing in his usual manner, a coffee cup in his hand. "She ended up dancing naked on top of the tables in the vending machine room."

"What?!" McGee spluttered.

"You missed quite a show, Probie," Tony teased.

"Did they find out who slipped her the drug?" Ziva queried.

"Nope," Tony answered.

"It was Lily," Gibbs added. "Her style, anyway."

"Should have guessed," Tony muttered.

"Not exactly a wild guess," Ziva commented. "She was my second suspect."

"Who was your first?" Tony wondered.

Ziva smiled her little mysterious smile, the one which drove him up the wall every time.

"You don't have a first guess," he bluffed.

"Finished that report?" Gibbs demanded.

Tony forced himself to turn back to his computer. "Working on it, Boss."

* * *

Ziva David smirked as she watched her partner attempt to complete his report. Tony had clearly never got the hang of multitasking, unlike McGee and Gibbs who seemed to be able to produce reports at the drop of a hat. She supposed it was a skill. Her Mossad reports had always had to be perfect so she found writing things up for NCIS to be a doodle.

Or was it 'doddle'?

She wondered whether to ask Tony, but stopped herself. It was obvious that he needed to get some work done before Gibbs began torturing him, so it was better if she left him to his own devices. That way, she would not be in Gibbs' sights when he exploded at Tony.

She pushed her paperclip chain around her desk. Ideally she would be in the gym now, practicing her martial arts. Instead, she was stuck behind her desk, waiting for a phone call that Gibbs was sure would come.

She would follow the man blindly; she trusted him with her life. And yet sometimes she wished they would stop relying on his gut. He had refused her permission to disappear for a few hours, even though there was nothing to keep her in the squad room. He was adamant that a case would come their way soon and she was not stupid enough to disobey him.

Unlike Tony.

Her partner seemed to have a death wish sometimes. The only other person who annoyed Gibbs on a regular basis was Lily, and the redhead could get away with anything. Including, it seemed, winding Gibbs up to the point where he wanted to shoot her.

The sound of someone approaching drew her out of her thoughts, and she turned to see Jenny making her way towards the team. She seemed… frustrated was the best word. Although there was also a little fury in her eyes as well.

The Director stopped in front of Gibbs' desk and the agent raised his eyes in acknowledgment.

"What do you know about a security conference in Paris?" she asked.

Gibbs was clearly confused. "Never heard of it."

Ziva put down her pen. This was going to be an interesting conversation.

"You are booked on a plane that leaves from Dulles in two hours," Jenny informed him.

He glared at her. "Could have done with a little more notice," he growled.

"Not my fault." Jenny looked apologetic. "Someone else arranged all this."

From the quirked eyebrow, it was clear that Gibbs wanted more information.

The redhead sighed. "It's a routine conference and Lily offered to take my place; she wanted to get out of DC for a little bit. Last night, she was picked up in the Louvre. According to the statement she gave to the local authorities, she was kidnapped and bought there, before she managed to break free and kill one of them."

Ziva seriously doubted this was the truth. Lily had a hatred of all cops and was perfectly capable of lying through her teeth.

Gibbs seemed to think the same thing. "How does this involve me?"

"Someone over there decided that she needs better security so they picked you." Jenny gave a wide grin. "I'm sure you can look after her for a few days."

Gibbs jumped to his feet. "There is no way I'm –"

"Suck it up," Jenny smiled. "Try not to kill my sister."

Gibbs glared at the Director's back as she left for the safety of her office. Ziva would have joined her if she had not worked out that Gibbs needed to leave almost immediately to make it to his plane on time. She supposed this was why Jenny had told him at the last possible minute.

As her boss left, Ziva wondered how much blood would end up on the carpet over this.

* * *

As Ducky stepped off the elevator, he fought his panic down. He was not someone who usually let his emotions get the better of him, choosing to think rationally and calmly. But he felt he was allowed to feel upset about this.

With his mother wandering off more and more, he had given in and installed an alarm system. It would sound if she attempted to open a door or a window. Every time he went to bed, he always set it. Having to drive down the road every morning to locate his mother was sending him insane.

And it had worked. His mother had found herself unable to leave the house at night, which meant he could have a little lie-in every morning and not have to worry about her as much. It was much safer for her, and she seemed to have adjusted well.

Until this morning.

He had woken up to find the house empty. His first thought was that he had forgotten to set the alarm, but he had quickly ruled that out. He had searched every room, in every possible place, and not found a trace of her.

Next, he had climbed into his Morgan and driven around the area, hoping that perhaps the alarm system had failed and she was trying to walk to the shops again. No luck. Finally, he had decided that the best plan of action was to inform Jethro about what had happened.

As he passed Ziva, he sighed. Agent Gibbs did not appear to be at his desk. Presumably, he was on one of his regular coffee runs.

"Is everything okay, Ducky?" Ziva asked politely.

"Just… just waiting for Jethro," he replied. "How are you this morning?" Even though his mother was missing, he would not forgotten his manners.

"Gibbs has been sent to Paris to babysit Lily," Tony interrupted before the Israeli could reply. "Can we help?"

"I believe that my mother has been kidnapped," Ducky announced. He really would have preferred Jethro to be around, but Tony was a capable agent and the team had proved before that they could function without their fearless leader.

Fearless unless in the company of the redhead he had been sent to protect.

"Are you sure?" Ziva queried. "Has she just wandered off again?"

"I cannot find her," Ducky emphasized. "I cannot file a missing persons report for 24 hours, but I know something is wrong."

"We will find her," Tony promised. "Or Gibbs will kill us."


	3. Arrival

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! Bit of an early update as I need to go to bed early tonight._

Chapter 3: Arrival

Leroy Jethro Gibbs stepped into the airport. After seven and a half hours of the scariest flying he had ever lived through, he was prepared to kill Lily for her antics.

It was her fault he had been forced to get on the plane. Her fault she couldn't control her mischievous impulses during a security conference. He was half expecting to be informed that the conference was having problems with the odd exploding toilet.

He had spent the plane journey simultaneously hoping that he would be allowed to return to Jenny and the twins in one piece, while trying to decide how he was going to handle Lily. He had initially thought that Lily would be easy to deal with: she was impersonating her sister after all. And then he remembered that nothing stopped Lily when she wanted something.

And tormenting him was very high on her things-to-do list.

What had she been thinking, pulling a stunt like this in the middle of a conference?! He knew from experience that she could slip a security detail in her sleep – not that her occasional sleepwalking didn't give him nightmares already. Although he was fairly sure she had been faking the last time she had snuggled into his bed while 'asleep'. It was something about the way she had instantly put her cold feet on his legs…

Still, Lily seemed to exist to cause havoc. She delighted in her antics and he suspected she would never grow up properly. She had far too much fun with very few consequences as a result.

As he collected his bag, he let his gaze take in the rest of the room. His gut was telling him that something wasn't quite right.

A flash of red hair caught his attention and he bit back the urge to put a bullet in her skull. Lily was supposed to be under protection; her presence at the airport was not going to go down well. If she had really been Jenny, she would have stayed back at the hotel.

She bounced over to him, a grin on her face.

"LJ!" she smirked. "I heard a rumor that you volunteered for this job."

He scowled at her, hauling his bag up and looking for the exit. "You think I'd volunteer to get stuck with you for five days?"

She pretended to think about this. "It's what everyone back at the conference has been saying."

"And why aren't you there?"

She steered him down a corridor. "Everything's over for the day. The organizers think I'm sitting in my room, going over a few files."

"You didn't answer the question," he pointed out.

She continued to guide him around. "Because I don't need a protection detail."

"_Jenny _needs a protection detail," he observed. "And if you want to be Jenny for a week, you've got to live with the security."

She pointed at a spot ahead of him. "I took the liberty of booking you a flight back to DC. As you can see, I'm alive and well. There's no reason for you to be here."

He stared at the departure queue, before turning to her. "What really happened last night?" he demanded.

Her eyes flickered shut, a sure sign she was debating whether or not to tell him the truth. When they reopened, he could see nothing but sincerity. "I went to meet a contact and someone tried to kill me. It's no big deal; I can handle it myself, like a good little CIA agent."

He snorted. Lily was certainly no angel, but she was correct in her description of her abilities. "Why are you still in Paris?" he checked.

"Because I have reason to believe that another of my pursuers is also in Paris," she answered. "And no one crosses me and lives to tell the tale."

"Then I'm your back-up," he stated firmly.

She stared at him for a few moments, looking into his eyes. He met her search head-on.

"If I go back, Jenny will come in my place," he warned.

"Fine," she remarked. "For the record, I don't need back-up."

"For the record, you're an irresponsible idiot who needs to learn to ask others for help," he retorted.

"That's rich, coming from you," she snapped. "For the record, I can look after myself. I don't need a Navy cop running around after me."

"Then why was I sent out?"

They glared at each other. Lily's hands were resting on her hips, but he knew she was itching to go for a gun. However, she was not stupid enough to shoot him in a busy airport. Not with the sheer number of witnesses.

"I'll call us a cab," she growled, turning around and stalking off at speed.

He groaned as he tried to keep up with her. How could she walk that fast in those heels? They would be lucky to survive a day without one causing the other serious bodily harm…

* * *

Timothy McGee dodged another dog and chuckled as Tony tried to escape from the clutches of Contessa.

There might be here on serious business, but it had yet to be proven that anything had happened to Mrs. Mallard. McGee was working hard to keep an open mind, especially given the old lady's Houdini-like abilities. In all probability, she would appear shortly and start barking out orders.

Tony seemed to be suffering the most. He might technically be team leader with Gibbs absent, but Contessa didn't care about that and was trying to use his leg as a scratching post. Ziva had long since stopped searching so that she could film this on her cell phone.

McGee wished he had thought of that first.

The video was likely to be all over NCIS by the end of the day. Ziva might not be a computer expert, but she knew how to tease her partner. Tony would undoubtedly get her back for this, while McGee was content to watch from the sidelines.

Finally, Tony managed to lock Contessa in a room. He stood up and attempted to make himself more presentable.

"You look like you have been through the dinger," Ziva observed, giggling.

"'Wringer'," Tony corrected automatically.

"A what?" she questioned.

"A wringer," McGee piped up. "Used to squash the water out of clothes."

Ziva nodded in understanding.

"Well, do we have anything?" Tony demanded.

"Ducky says the alarm was set," McGee noted.

"And none of the doors or windows appear to have been tampered with," Ziva added.

"So she probably wasn't taken against her will," McGee concluded.

"And your theory explains the fact that Mrs. Mallard isn't here, how?" Tony queried.

McGee sighed. "I have no idea why she isn't here. Maybe Ducky forgot to set the alarm and she snuck out. Or perhaps she worked out how to disarm it herself."

He suspected the latter was more likely. Mrs. Mallard was a crafty woman, who seemed to adapt well to her surroundings. If Ducky had used a code that was easily guessable – which many people did – she could have figured it out and left.

Who would kidnap Mrs. Mallard anyway? She was a nightmare to look out for and she wandered off at the drop of a hat. It was probably simpler to kidnap Gibbs. At least he would kill his kidnapper, instead of Mrs. Mallard driving them to suicide.

"She appears to have vanished into thin air," Ziva remarked. "She should be here, but she is not."

"I say we put out a BOLO for her," McGee suggested. "She'll turn up."

"I hope so," Tony muttered. "I hope so."

* * *

As she stood in the elevator, Jenny wished Gibbs was around. He would know how to comfort Ducky better than she would.

But Jethro was in Paris, dealing with her errant sister, leaving her to look after their twins alone for the rest of the week. She was tired, she was stressed, and there were not enough hours in the day to sort everything out. She couldn't deal with her job, her children, her sister's actions, and another event all at the same time.

The other event was the worst one. Lily had become scared, which was very unusual in itself, although Jenny understood what was going through her head, and decided to skip the country for a little while. Jenny felt she just needed time to clear her head. She racked her brains for a moment: had she told Jethro about it?

The elevator dinged and she stepped off. If she had forgotten to tell Jethro, it didn't matter. Lily would clue him into it fast enough. Her reckless actions were a good hint for him.

"Ducky?" she called as she entered Autopsy.

He was busy working on a body. This did not surprise her: Ducky was nothing but a professional.

"Any news?" he inquired.

"Not yet," she smiled warmly. "I came down to see how you were doing."

He straightened up and removed his gloves. "Part of me says that she's just wandered off again," he admitted. "But I have a… what Jethro would call a _gut feeling_."

Jenny nodded, having much experience of this.

"I just need to know that she's okay," he told her.

"We'll find her," she promised him.

And she meant it. Even if she had to drag Lily back from the conference to join in the search, they would find Mrs. Mallard.


	4. Positive Thoughts

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! Been so busy today... And fiber analysis really is as boring, complicated and annoying as Abby makes it out to be._

Chapter 4: Positive Thoughts

Lily sighed as she tried to decide what to eat. So much choice… And she wasn't even the one paying for all of this.

One of her contacts had replied to a message she had left, so naturally she wished to meet up. LJ had refused to let her out of his sight, which was actually a good thing. It meant that she got to play with him as well as hide in the shadows.

Her contact worked on the restaurant on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. She had visited _Le Jules Verne _before, but this time she was able to charge it to a CIA credit card. The food was perfect and she had so much choice!

Across the table from her, LJ cleared his throat. She fought down the urge to giggle; she really did enjoy messing with his mind. She had suggested that as he was supposed to be protecting her, they could go undercover for the afternoon. Suffering from jet lag, he had been forced to agree. Thus he found himself on a pretend date in a fancy restaurant.

Two things he hated in one go. It was almost enough to calm her down.

From her seat, she had a beautiful view of both the sun setting and of Paris itself. Part of her wished that Jenny was here so they could enjoy the view together. It was truly stunning.

"Madame?" the waiter questioned.

She was suddenly very glad that LJ was present; she had been so lost in thought that she had not noticed his approach.

"Le turbot, s'il vous plaît," she decided.

LJ winced at her accent. She knew how much she hated it when she showed off her education. He still struggled with making himself understood in French.

The waiter vanished. "Thinking of anything good?" LJ queried, sounding bored.

"My wedding," she replied.

"You've been engaged to Alex for how long now?" he wondered. "You're not actually going to go through with it, are you?"

"We're getting married on Saturday," she shot back, enjoying the flicker of shock that crossed his face.

"Did my invite get lost in the post?" he inquired.

She nodded. In reality, she had arranged for it to be delivered on Saturday morning, knowing full well that Jenny had forgotten to tell him. She did like a panicking LJ.

"Why now?" he asked, his voice low.

"Like you said," she whispered. "I need to go through with this."

Her cell phone rang, breaking the moment. She mouthed a series of swear words in various languages as she reached for it.

"Shepard," she answered.

LJ rolled his eyes, knowing full well that she used her old married name at work. She only picked Shepard when she was being Jenny or wanted to bug someone.

"No, I want lilies. LILIES. Not red roses, lilies."

LJ smirked at her. She couldn't remember organizing a wedding being this stressful before. Then again, it was probably related to other things.

"Lilies. Do you speak a language other than Idiot?"

LJ spat the wine in his mouth all over the table. She knew she could be a bit insulting when on the phone, but she was more intimidating in person. It had something to do with her playing with her gun when she got annoyed.

"I know it's not normal, but I'm not normal."

She reached for her own wine. This was going to be a long conversation at this rate.

"Because I'm the one paying. If you can't sort it, I'll find someone else who can and I'll have your business shut down at the same time."

She hung up before the idiot could annoy her further. LJ was chuckling, probably enjoying someone else being on the receiving end of her wrath for once.

"Remind me to invent a problem with their tax returns," she muttered darkly.

"Of course," LJ agreed.

* * *

Tony sat in Gibbs' chair. He enjoyed this position, but it came at a cost.

Being in charge of the team was nice. Everyone did what he said; he had complete control. Things were done the way he wanted them to be and they muddled along quite well.

But at the same time, he wanted Gibbs back. Ziva and McGee constantly reminded him that he wasn't the Boss, in their own little unconscious ways. He felt inadequate, alone. He disliked having to make decisions that could lead to the death of his friends.

He rubbed his eyes. He was tired, even though they had done very little. With no sign of Ducky's mother and midday having come and gone, they had finally come to the conclusion that someone had taken her. After a thorough search, Ziva had found a fiber in Mrs. Mallard's room that didn't match anything else present. Ducky was adamant that his mother owned nothing in fluorescent yellow, and Tony was inclined to agree.

Which meant that someone else had been in that room, which meant that this was now an official case. Ducky had seemed to take the news rather well; as he had put it, "At least now I know she's not just wandered off".

The next logical step was to start searching into the Mallard past. Tony was assuming that Mrs. Mallard had few enemies, so they were focusing their attention on Ducky.

Which was easier said than done. Ducky had lived a full life, all around the world as well. Even getting into his personnel file was difficult and had involved a discussion with Jenny. The file itself was huge and it was only their starting point.

They had ended up splitting Ducky's life into three pieces, with everyone taking one piece each. Abby was busy working on the fiber and any other forensic evidence from other teams, Ducky had decided to continue his usual routine, and Jenny was snowed under with work, although she had remembered to inform them about Lily's wedding on Saturday.

They would all be attending, assuming they could locate and rescue Mrs. Mallard by then. Tony had his fingers crossed that someone else would inform Abby. The Goth tended to get a little excited about weddings.

The pile of paper in front of him seemed to mock him. Groaning, he continued his task. Ducky's past seemed endless…

* * *

Abby had switched her music off, afraid that it would bring bad luck. She liked Mrs. Mallard; she was a wonderful lady, if slightly eccentric. And she wanted her back in one piece.

She wished Gibbs was here. He would know what to say, how to comfort her. Tony was supplying her with Caf-Pows, but he was not the same, however much coffee he drank.

She wasn't sure whether she was more worried about Mrs. Mallard or about Lily and Gibbs being together in Paris. Everyone knew that Paris was the city of love. What if Lily split Mommy and Daddy up? What if Gibbs and Lily decided to elope?

It didn't matter that Jenny had informed her about the upcoming wedding; she was in a worrying mood. She was worried that Lily would not return to the States in time. She was worried that Gibbs would slip and fall on a cobbled street. She was worried that Lily would fall from the Eiffel Tower.

She was worried that something would happen at the wedding, like Lily's dead husband appearing out of nowhere. Or Lily turning out to have married someone else in the meantime. Or Gibbs having a heart attack halfway through the ceremony.

She forced herself to concentrate on the fiber that Ziva had found. It was a nice unusual color, which always helped. She mounted the slide in record time and stuck it under her microscope.

Pretty.

Even without the delusterant, it was obvious this was a synthetic fiber. She was fairly sure it was acrylic, having seen many fibers before. She decided to perform dye analysis next. It would help to narrow down where the fiber had come from.

She hummed softly to herself as she prepared for the analysis. She needed her sand bath, and her solvent was around here somewhere… With her mind focused on her job, she forgot about her concerns.

Finally, she began the procedure. She hated this part of her job. It was fiddly, boring, and there was no guarantee it would work. When she figured out who had invented thin-layer chromatography, she was going to set Ziva on them.

As she waited for the sand bath to heat her sample, she returned to her computer. She had decided it might be worthwhile to track Lily in Paris, but had stumbled to a halt over the GPS chip in her cell phone not working. Thinking the phone had been switched off, she had dialed the number, only to slam the receiver down when it had rung. The sneaky CIA lady was playing with her gadgets again.

Her dinger dinged, warning her that she needed to remove the capillary tube from the sand bath. Sighing, she gave up her current attempt to hack Lily's location and began the next stage of the analysis.

The solvent front needed to be watched, so she crouched down next to it, her worries starting to gnaw away at her again. What if Lily and Gibbs never came back? What if they never found Mrs. Mallard? What if they didn't find Mrs. Mallard before Gibbs returned?

She took several deep breaths. Everything was going to be fine. Tony would locate Mrs. Mallard, she could analyze this fiber, and Gibbs would come back in one piece.

Under her breath, she muttered her favorite mantra. "Positive thoughts, positive thoughts, positive thoughts."


	5. Swanning Around

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! _

Chapter 5: Swanning Around

Leroy Jethro Gibbs smirked as Lily stepped onto the boat and almost fell over. Someone hadn't got their sea legs.

After a very long sleep back at the hotel, Lily had decided to skip the morning discussions. The official reason was that she was not feeling well, but Gibbs knew it had more to do with her determination to get her attacker. Lily never let anyone else win.

He was more concerned about her sleepwalking. She had ended up in his room at 0600, a time when she was normally awake and alert. And she definitely hadn't been faking either. She would only wander when she was seriously worried about something, and he had a good idea of what that was.

The redhead found a seat towards the back of the boat and he sat next to her. Together, they silently observed the other tourists.

Lily had decided that she wanted to go on a Bateau Bus. From what he had been able to gather, they were boats that carried tourists around key tourist attractions, with stops nearby. It saved walking everywhere and was actually quite scenic. Quite why she wanted to do this was beyond him, but he knew better than to ask. Having three ex-wives made him a bit of an expert.

As he was supposed to be protecting her, he had tagged along. He didn't feel she needed protecting from anyone but herself. She was known for coming up with reckless ideas and carrying them out, and she seemed in a bad way.

"Marriage," he stated, low enough that no one else could hear him. "Are you ready for this again?"

The look on her face said it all. She was petrified. And he knew why.

"I'm fine," she told him, in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Because after what happened to Brian –" he began.

"Don't bring him into this," she snapped, turning to glare at him, not an easy feat in the little plastic chairs.

"Why? Because you need to address this before Saturday," he warned. "You're a mess already."

"Someone shot my husband in a drive-by, leaving him to die in my arms," she hissed, her voice full of venom. "I was heavily pregnant with my son at the time. I will never get over that completely. I need to move on with my life."

He stared at her, aware of how that moment had destroyed her life. "Hey," he whispered back. "I've been through this. I know how it feels. If you love Alex, you need to suck it up and do this. Brian would want you to move on, to be happy."

"Then why haven't you proposed to my sister?" she queried. "You married another three women, so why not her?"

"I didn't love them," he answered honestly. "I don't want to screw this up with Jenny. But you can do this. You need to let go of your fear."

"It's not that easy," she murmured. "At least you were in Kuwait. I was right next to him."

Her cell phone went again and he didn't prevent her from answering it. Their conversation was getting into realms that he didn't even mention to Jenny. But he had known Lily for years and they shared a common pain. However much they argued, there was an undercurrent of affection, born of their shared love for Jenny.

"Shepard," she spoke into the phone.

He let his gaze travel to the other passengers. No one appeared to be a threat to Lily, but he kept his eyes open. Her current mood suggested that she was not paying as much attention to her surroundings as she usually did.

"What do you mean, 'ice badger'?"

He winced. Who were these crazy people she was hiring? Was there no one sane left in DC?

"Ice _swan_. Sierra Whiskey Alpha November. Not badger. Where did you get badger from?"

He couldn't remember any of his wives having problems like this. Although he hadn't really paid attention to their arrangements, leaving them to do whatever they wanted. He had only really cared about Shannon anyway, and as long as she had been happy, he had been happy.

"It will not take you until Sunday to produce another one. If you don't have it ready by my wedding, I'll send you a nail bomb."

He chuckled as she hung up. "Do you threaten everyone?" he asked.

"It gets the job done," she noted. "They're very lucky I'm not in the States right now or my boss would have to tie me to my desk."

"And even then, you'd manage to cause havoc," he surmised.

"I'm going to need a padded cell when this is over," she groaned.

"Don't worry," he smirked. "I'll find you one."

* * *

Ziva David wished she was in Paris now. Even if she was dealing with this case in Paris, she would feel a lot better.

It was unbearably warm for September in DC, and the air conditioning was threatening to die a horrible death. Tony and McGee had started to reminisce about the days when it did so on a regular basis, which left her worried. She was used to the cool air wafting over her and she was certain that the windows would not open.

And Paris would not have Tony and McGee's bickering. Sometimes she thought of them as two small siblings. Tony had brought out the superglue and had covered pretty much all of McGee's desk in the stuff, which had led to McGee playing with Gibbs' chair so that when Tony sat on it, it collapsed. Tony had then started whining about 'The Probie', while McGee had attempted to hold his tongue, but had eventually given in.

Ziva had been at the stage where she had stopped trying to decide how to kill them and just decided to get rid of the bodies before she killed herself, when Jenny had appeared. Thankfully, the Director had admonished them for acting like children when Mrs. Mallard was still missing. Two muttered apologies later, they had resorted to glaring across their desks.

But it was quiet, which was all Ziva cared about. She could focus on her work, which was a complete mess. Ducky had been to more places than she had and that was saying something. And she was supposed to work out if he could have made any enemies in each of these places.

She was tempted to give in. Until she remembered that David's never gave in. It seemed unlikely that any David had ever faced a task this big before.

She had been wondering why the kidnappers had yet to make contact. Perhaps they had, but Ducky was not home so he had not got the message. McGee had put a trace on his phone just in case. Or perhaps Mrs. Mallard was not missing at all, but had wandered off. The fiber she had found could have come from anywhere. It could even have been brought in by the team themselves for all they knew.

It had been 24 hours and there was no trace of her. Her Mossad side was telling her that Ducky's mother was dead in a ditch somewhere, while her stubborn side reminded her that Mrs. Mallard was tougher than she looked.

Ducky appeared in the squad room and she rose from behind her desk to pull him into a tight hug. If Abby was not present, she would do the Goth's job for her.

The older man relaxed into the hug. She released him before patting him firmly on the back.

"We need your help," she informed him.

Tony sprang up, not happy with what she was saying. "She means that everything's fine –"

Ducky waved him off. "How can I help you?" he asked.

"Your file is… extensive," she admitted. "Could you help us to narrow down who might have taken your mother?"

* * *

Ducky knew when he had entered law enforcement that there could be a day when his family was threatened. It had never really worried him, seeing as it was only his mother and himself. His mother was quite capable of looking after herself and he knew a few self-defense moves.

But now he was afraid. He suspected this was an act of revenge, although he could not work out whom. There were a vast number of possible suspects after all. If Jethro was here, he might have had more luck, but Ducky was aware that his friend was needed elsewhere.

"Did you know where the term 'kidnapping' comes from?" he asked. "Most people think it comes from the Lindbergh kidnapping, but that was only when kidnapping was made a federal crime. Before then, it had been a local one."

Tony's eyes had glazed over, which was unsurprising, but Ziva and McGee were listening avidly.

"In fact, the word seems to have originated among the criminals themselves," he continued. "It was first recorded in 1678, in various colonies. 'Napper' is an obsolete slang word for a thief, and is thought to be Scandinavian in origin."

"Ducky," Tony smiled. "Is there any way you could help us narrow down this list?"


	6. Trouble

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! The state trooper might be based slightly on a flatmate..._

Chapter 6: Trouble

Lily stared at the Arc de Triomphe. She might have seen it before, but it always confused her slightly. It was something about a massive arch being completely surrounded by a crazy roundabout.

She and LJ were standing on the Champs-Elysées. They were supposed to be meeting someone for lunch shortly, but she didn't want to attend. Her mind was too far away, trying to work out where her attackers might be. She knew one of them, the one she had recognized, had already left the country, which left her the other.

Her contact at the Eiffel Tower had been less than helpful, only able to inform her that he had mobilized his own contacts in the hunt. She had been hoping for something more useful, like a name. She could do a lot with a name. Instead, she had spent the only part of the conference she had attended today with a personnel file, looking for any known associates. Thankfully, LJ had not been present to ask any questions.

This was getting on her nerves. First Jenny had been the target and then she herself had been picked. She was worried about who else might be on the list. If this continued, she was going to get protection for her son. If anything happened to Jasper, she would never recover.

"You just going to stand there?"

LJ's voice cut through her thoughts. She turned to glare at him, spotting the little smirk on his face that made her want to snap back at him. Sometimes, it was a pain to spend time with someone who knew you so well. Although she found it easy to wind LJ up, he was slowly learning how to make it work the other way.

"I thought if I stood here long enough," she replied, forcing herself to remain calm. "I would turn into a tree."

The look he gave her clearly said that he had no idea why she would want to do such a thing.

She turned her gaze back to the Arc for a few moments before whirling back to him. "Do we have to go to this dinner?"

"You sound like a five year old," he noted.

She pouted, delighted when it drew a soft smile from him. "Jenny's the diplomat. I just want to track someone down and kill him."

"You came here as Jenny; you need to do her job," he warned.

She could see where he was coming from, but she didn't have to like it. Scowling, she moved towards him and they set off down the street together, dodging pedestrians.

"So," LJ started. "Are you going to wear some form of a ring after Saturday?"

Grateful that he had changed topics, she decided to answer truthfully. "I don't know. I might wear it when I'm not at work, but it interferes with dealing with suspects."

"You mean flirting with suspects," he corrected.

"Potayto, potahto," she sang.

Her cell phone rang and she answered it without looking at caller ID. She wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone, so whoever it was could bear the brunt of her frustration and fear.

"Shepard," she announced.

A low tingling started in her gut. She wasn't sure whether to run or stay still.

"No, it's not a birthday cake. I'm getting married, you eejit!"

Beside her, LJ smirked. Her gut feeling was slowly getting stronger.

"That would be why I picked a wedding cake! Do you have a brain or was it replaced with straw?"

LJ stopped where he was and laughed. She gave him a brief smile, annoyed at the idiot on the phone and distracted by her gut feeling.

"No, Saturday. Not tomorrow. I'm not even on the same continent as my fiancé; how am I supposed to get married tomorrow? The church is booked for Saturday, the cars are booked for Saturday, the padre is booked for Saturday… so why would I want the cake for tomorrow?!"

CRACK

She automatically dropped to the floor, even though part of her brain continued to function and reminded her to end the call without saying anything. She clipped her cell phone back to her belt as LJ grabbed her and unceremoniously hauled her behind a bin. She didn't like this position and it was obvious that he didn't either, but it was their best form of cover for the moment.

Her mind was spinning. Who was trying to kill her? Judging by the way the bullet had whistled past her right arm, leaving a very slight mark, she had a funny feeling it had been meant for her.

Much as she hated relying on LJ for anything, the only way they were going to get out of this was if they worked together.

"Next shot, we head for the alley?" she suggested, looking over at him.

He nodded once. "Who'd you piss off this time?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I could give you a list. How much time do you have?"

* * *

Timothy McGee was nervous. Tony had called Ducky up to the squad room again after a few more fruitless hours of looking into his past.

At the rate this was going, they would have died of old age themselves before they had finalized their list of Ducky's possible enemies. There were simply so many people he had been responsible for putting behind bars, and in so many different countries. It would be easier to research Ziva's enemies.

And now they had to tell Ducky that their task was basically impossible, unless he could come up with an incredibly shortened list for them.

The Scottish doctor entered the squad room and McGee gave him a weak smile. Ducky seemed to know what was coming when Tony stood up solemnly. McGee wished Abby was present so she could wrap Ducky in a bone-crushing hug and refuse to give up.

But they didn't have a choice. They were now turning down active cases, cases that had a lot more leads and possibilities than this one. It was unfair to Ducky that they were abandoning the search for his mother, but there were others that needed their help. They couldn't keep giving the cases to everyone else in the building. There would come a point when the system failed.

So Ducky was going to be the one to suffer. They couldn't even prove that his mother had been kidnapped. For all they knew, she could have wandered off somewhere. Even though there was the slight problem of the alarm still functioning, there was still the possibility.

McGee did not like giving up. He hated failure. But he just couldn't see how they were supposed to go any further with all that they had.

* * *

State Trooper Charlotte Brien forced herself to stay awake as she continued to direct traffic. She had gone to bed at a ridiculously late hour the night before and was now paying for it.

Anyway, it wasn't her fault that some idiot had caused a five car pile-up on one of the main roads. Some of the people she was redirecting seemed to think she was personally responsible for the accident and the closed road. A disturbing number seemed to think that she would let them pass when she understood just how urgent their business meeting or conference or whatever was.

While she shook her head, the next car in line came up to her.

"Turn around," she ordered. "Road's closed ahead."

"I just got a call from Holy Cross Memorial Hospital," the man told her, straight-faced. "My wife's had an accident and I need to get there as soon as possible."

"Nice try," she growled. "That particular hospital is five miles behind you, not the other side of me. Turn around now, or I'll arrest you for wasting my time."

The man groaned but did as he was ordered.

Brien breathed a sigh of relief. She hated redirecting people. She would much rather be helping at the scene of the accident, but she was the most local officer and it helped to know the area when people were trying to sneak past.

Another car pulled into the previous one's place, and she withheld a sigh as the window rolled down.

"Turn around," she repeated. "Road's closed ahead."

"I need you to arrest me," he told her.

While part of her wondered if the man was on drugs, she reached for her handcuffs. "Sir, what have you done?"

He appeared to be about twenty and looked at the end of his tether. She couldn't see any blood on him so she allowed her gaze to travel around the inside of the car. In the back seat, she could make out another figure.

"I kidnapped her," the man pointed.

Her gaze flipped back to the figure in the back seat. This time, she could make out an elderly lady. And now she was paying closer attention, she could hear the lady admonishing the man for stopping the car.

"Please take me into custody," the man pleaded. "I'm begging you. I can't stand her anymore."

Brien removed her handcuffs. "Step out of the car slowly, sir," she demanded. "Keep your hands where I can see them. Don't make any sudden moves."

The man nodded and did as he was told.

"Thank you," he smiled. "You're a wonderful person."


	7. Hope and Faith

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! Almost forgot to update tonight..._

Chapter 7: Hope and Faith

Gibbs stood outside in the blazing sunshine, staring at a building that Lily had dragged him to.

He might have been to Paris before, but he had never entered Sacré-Coeur. It was impossible for him not to have seen it though: it stood on top of the highest point in the city. And the white stone from which it was made dazzled in the sunlight.

His gaze passed over the domes to the two green horsemen that seemed to guard this place.

Someone crashed into the back of him.

He turned and was not surprised to find that no one was there. A huge crowd of people were gathered around the front of the basilica; some looking at the spectacular view, others waiting in groups for their tour to continue. People were darting this way and that, making it difficult to navigate through them.

Although Lily seemed to be finding it easy. To top it off, her head was down and she was mouthing wordlessly the words on a piece of paper she held.

Gibbs shook his head softly. Lily was still an enigma to him, although he wasn't quite sure whether it was due more to her stated desire to annoy him at every turn or because she didn't seem to live in the real world. His other idea was that she liked to be something of a mystery because she enjoyed the kick she got out of it.

He still didn't trust her completely. Sure, he trusted her to watch his back in a firefight, but not to drive his car, watch his house, keep an eye on his team, keep her eyes on a suspect – mainly because the minute he turned his back, she would be flirting with said suspect – not kill someone, play mind games, and definitely not to stay where he told her too.

Thus, when she had dragged him away from the back of an ambulance and told him she planned to go see someone, and if he was supposed to be protecting her then he had better come along as well, he had thought it was a game of some sort. When she had started up the incredibly steep hill with a grin on her face, he felt his gut feeling had been confirmed.

But now she seemed to be focused. She had not had the paper in her hands when she had arrived and he suspected a contact had given it to her. With a bit of luck, they would finally find out what was happening. He was getting fed up of her false leads.

Even if it was exposing a side of her that he had never seen before.

Normally, she was impatient, threatening to shoot anyone and everyone if things didn't go her way immediately. Now, she was focused, determined, and waiting for something to come along. Although he could tell she just wanted this to be over, he admired her restraint.

He didn't fancy being around when her restraint wore off.

She smiled as she reached him. "A name," she stated.

"Anything good?" he asked.

"Pierre Leraye," she answered. "Low level guy from what I can tell."

He managed to get a glimpse of the paper and cursed silently when he realized it was in French. When this was over, he was going to get Jenny to teach him as much as possible.

"And my contact reckons he's still in the city, which is fine by me," Lily continued.

"On with the wild goose chase?" he checked.

She grinned impishly. "Sure."

As he followed her away from the basilica, he decided to try to address the topic of her upcoming nuptials again. He was aware of how scared she was, remembering his first remarriage after Shannon and how he had been a bundle of nerves for the whole thing. He wanted to help her to think everything through.

"After Saturday," he began. "You going to leave your job? Settle down somewhere and live out the rest of your days in peace?"

She snorted. "You'll have to drag me kicking and screaming from the CIA," she warned. "I'm not leaving that place without a fight."

He chuckled. Although Lily no longer mentioned it now, he knew she had been planning to leave the CIA after her son's birth. When her first husband died, everything had been thrown out of the window as she went after his killers. If she left the CIA after marrying a second time, Lily would consider it an insult to her dead husband.

He was getting surprised at how much he was enjoying her company out here. It helped that there was no one else for her to show off to – not that it normally stopped her, but she did enjoy an audience. For the moment, they were doing quite well. Her cell phone going off made him grin again.

"Shepard," she answered.

He was prepared to bet any money that this was going to involve her wedding.

"What do you mean; you've sold my ring to someone else by mistake?"

He winced. How many more things could go wrong? If he were a superstitious man, he would have said these things were bad omens. But he didn't believe in such things.

"Then I want you to either get my ring back from her or make me a new one. I don't particularly care, as long as it's all sorted for Saturday."

He made a mental note that when he eventually did marry Jenny, if he ever did, he was going to get a complete list of everyone Lily had used for her wedding and then avoid them all.

"Because I am fully prepared to drill holes in your knee-caps, that's why." She ended the call abruptly.

"Wish you were back in the States?" he carefully queried.

"Very glad I'm here," Lily groaned. "If I was in the US, I would be torturing everyone and slowly losing my mind."

"I'm booking that padded cell for your honeymoon," he joked.

"Thanks," she replied, seriously.

* * *

Tony DiNozzo glared across the table at Jackson Daniel.

What kind of idiot handed himself into a traffic cop? The man had practically begged to be arrested, according to the report he had seen. Thankfully, someone somewhere had recognized Mrs. Mallard from the BOLO and sent both of them along to the Navy Yard.

Even so, who in their right mind handed themselves in? Daniel had kidnapped someone, kept her hidden for 48 hours and then decided to jack it all in suddenly. What would possess him to do such a thing?

And then Tony remembered that the kidnapped person was Mrs. Mallard, who upon seeing him five minutes ago had commented that he needed to lose a lot of weight. He personally couldn't put up with the woman for half an hour; Daniel should be given a medal, considering how long he lasted.

It was obvious that the man sitting across from him wasn't the brains of the outfit. To keep the cops off his tail, he should at the very least have dropped her off somewhere and run away. Or kept her drugged up. Or gagged her when she became too much to handle.

Mrs. Mallard had been left in the capable hands of Abby, who seemed to be one of three people in the world who could stand her. The others were Ducky, naturally, and Gibbs. But with the Boss on foreign soil and Ducky testifying in court at the moment, Abby had been the only one left. She had happily taken Mrs. Mallard into her lab and the Probie had been ordered to try to take a statement from her.

Sometimes Tony liked being in charge. He got to give all the bad jobs to the Probie. He knew that if Gibbs was here, he would end up with the old lady. Gibbs had an evil streak.

Jenny had left her office to go to the court, ready to tell Ducky the good news the minute she was able to. Ducky was going to be amused to learn that his mother had been located within minutes of him turning his cell phone off. Meanwhile, Ziva was waiting behind the glass window, ready to observe his interrogation.

He took a moment to study Daniel. The younger man was visibly nervous, aware that he was looking at a long prison sentence. He was rocking backwards and forwards slightly; Tony hated people who couldn't sit still.

Even though he couldn't either.

"Jackson Daniel," he spoke. "Twenty one, resident of Maryland, been arrested a few times for drug possession."

"I'm clean now," Daniel stated.

Tony had a funny feeling he was lying, but decided not to call him on it. Yet. "And you handed yourself in for kidnapping. Not the brightest bulb in the box, are you?"

"Huh?"

He rolled his eyes. Great. He'd got someone who probably had problems tying his own shoelaces. At least flipping him should be a lot easier.

"I couldn't take her anymore," Daniel confided. "I needed to get away."

"Right…" Tony drawled. "So, who hired you?"

"No one," Daniel lied.

"Okay, Einstein," Tony smirked. "Well, you took her across state lines, so I can add those charges to the mix as well. Let's see how long you're looking at…"

"Wait a moment," Daniel begged.

Tony resisted the urge to smile. Sometimes it was so easy.

"It was a guy. I never saw him before, but his name was Frank Cromwell. He hired me to kidnap her."


	8. Entombed

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! I hate exams..._

Chapter 8: Entombed

Gibbs was happy that he had been to this place before. It was a small comfort, given that Lily was clinging on his arm and delighting in pretending to be his lover again.

Years ago, he had visited Les Invalides with Jenny. At first, he had not wanted to wander around a series of museums, but his mood had quickly changed when he had discovered that they were military museums. In fact, he remembered Jenny practically pulling him away from some of the exhibits and whining that she would have left him behind if she had known he was going to take this long.

A small smile crossed his lips. He missed her. He missed her and their children. All he wanted to do was get on the next plane back to DC. But Jenny would kill him if he left her sister unattended, especially now she was getting close.

Another flash of a camera made him wince. They were in a tomb; did tourists have to take photographs of everything? Lily had insisted on seeing the sarcophagus of Napoleon I and it had bored him to tears. He suspected that was why she had wanted to see it.

The whole tomb was surprisingly small. In his memory, it had been bigger, although he hadn't been paying much attention to it at the time. A certain redhead had captured his attention, her fiery hair reflecting the setting sun, and he had been unable to take his eyes off her.

Now, he was in the same place with the redhead's sister. And they were watching Pierre Leraye; the man who Lily thought had attacked her in the Louvre.

Fortunately, she wanted some kind of proof before she did anything else. He wasn't sure what her standard of proof would be in this situation. She claimed that she had only heard one voice and she already knew who that was. She hadn't seen anyone because of where she had been hiding. And there were no cameras in the area that had caught a glimpse of her attackers.

He didn't mind people listening to their guts, but he worried when that person was Lily and she clearly wanted revenge. He half expected her to take out the whole city of Paris simply to make sure she got her man.

She blew into his ear, forcing him out of his thoughts. He turned to glare at her, only to receive a grin in response.

"Bored?" she inquired.

"Kill me now," he ordered.

"That can be arranged," she smirked. "It would be a wonderful wedding present."

He knew the only reason she had decided they should trail Leraye as a couple was because it would bug him. If he was playing this game with Jenny, he wouldn't have minded and he would be actively trying to distract her. But this was Lily and he wasn't going down that path. He would rather kill her in the middle of the tomb, with however many eyewitnesses.

"I like him," Lily decided, out of the blue.

"Like who?" As usual, she had confused him.

"Leraye."

"If you're going to flirt with him –" he started.

She waved him off. "Not like that. Whenever I look at him, I know he was in the Louvre that night."

"Just know?" He was feeling very skeptical.

"This is coming from the man who trusts his gut more than the evidence," she retorted. "I know how to write these things up for the CIA and I know how to do my job."

"I'm fairly sure that 'using resources to obtain revenge' isn't doing your job," he countered.

"So shooting the drug dealer who killed Shannon and Kelly wasn't 'doing your job'?" she questioned. "LJ, I'm wounded."

He glared at her, hoping she would drop dead on the spot. "Don't bring that into this."

"Then let me do my job," she hissed. "If I leave a loose end, it could come back and bite my behind when I'm not paying attention. Call it revenge, call it what you will, but this is getting done whether you like it or not."

He continued to glare at her as she reached for her ringing cell phone.

"Shepard," she barked.

He could see where she was coming from. He even taught it to his own agents. However with Lily, he was aware that she tended to take things to extremes.

"You've lost my dress? This is insane…"

At this rate, Lily was going to have to postpone her wedding. This was getting ridiculous. He was starting to suspect that someone was deliberately interfering with her plans.

"I've already paid you for my dress and I expect it to be ready by Saturday. I do not care if you have to remake it from scratch."

Although he genuinely couldn't think of anyone who would be suicidal enough to cross Lily in this way.

"Here's a hint: I am allowed to kill you and blame it on my job. So either you sort this mess out, or I'll be coming your way with a loaded gun on Saturday."

She hung up, clearly annoyed. He decided to change the topic quickly.

"You and Alex," he began, not entirely sure where he was going. "You want children?"

Shrugging, she started to calm down. "I'm getting a bit old for that, don't you think? Anyway, I've got Jasper, and I can borrow Camilla and Rose whenever I want."

He remembered that she was still banned from seeing her nieces after he and Jenny had returned from a night out to find the whole apartment covered in a disturbing mixture of chocolate and dog mess. He was urgently working on getting Jenny out of her sister's apartment and into his house, or at the very least for them to go house hunting.

"And I work strange hours and I can be sent anywhere in the world at a moment's notice… I think having children wouldn't be fair on the little blighters."

Privately, he agreed. Lily was a good mother to her son, but she definitely couldn't cope with any more.

"Your turn for a question," she smirked.

He resisted the urge to run, choosing instead of keep his eyes on Leraye.

"Has Jenny ever tied you up?"

* * *

"Frank Cromwell?" Ducky repeated. "Yes, I remember the lad."

Ducky had been exceptionally overwhelmed to learn that his mother had been located. After returning from court and spending some time with her, he had ventured back into the squad room, ready to help the team in any way.

He couldn't blame them for almost giving up, although he was interested as to what Jethro's reaction would be when he learnt of this. He suspected a bomb shelter would be needed for everyone else.

The most important thing was that she was safe and had been returned, however odd the method of her location had been. That young man really must have been frightened of his mother to hand her over so readily. He would need to have words with her about her behavior around others.

"So, what happened?" As usual, Tony was eager for details.

Ducky took a moment to gather his thoughts. He did not want to miss any part of this story out.

"Mr. Cromwell was a medical assistant of mine. He was the one before Gerald."

"Who was Gerald?" Ziva whispered to McGee.

"Ari shot him in the arm," McGee whispered back. "Ducky hired Palmer when Gerald couldn't return to work."

"Well, this was just before Abigail joined," Ducky tried to recall. "At least he was fired before Abigail joined us."

"The suspense is killing me, Ducky," Tony warned.

Ducky smiled at him. "Anyway, Jethro was investigating the murder of a Private Brown. He had been stabbed several times and was found in a side street. This was late at night, so I visited the crime scene with Mr. Cromwell, declared the poor man dead, and delivered him here. I planned to do the autopsy in the morning as Jethro had plenty of leads and I needed my sleep."

"Planned?" Ziva picked up on the word. "Which means that you did not perform the autopsy in the morning."

"I did not perform an autopsy of any kind," Ducky confirmed.

"Did Cromwell?" McGee asked.

Tony head-slapped the other man. "Let the man finish his story," he demanded.

Ducky frowned. "Upon my arrival, I discovered that Private Brown was missing. At first, I thought I had simply put him in the wrong drawer, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I reported this to Jethro who was as baffled as I was."

"Cromwell had something to do with it," McGee deduced.

"Exactly," Ducky nodded. "After a brief investigation by myself, I learnt that Mr. Cromwell had handed Private Brown to the mob, who promptly destroyed his remains. The case was completely destroyed because we had no body of any kind, and the killer walked free."

"Who did you think killed him?" Ziva queried.

"Jethro found evidence that it was a mob killing," Ducky added. "Which is presumably why they took the body back."

"But why did he do it? Cromwell, I mean," McGee questioned.

"They offered him a substantial amount of money," Ducky informed them. "But I destroyed his career when I worked it out. Jethro managed to find enough evidence to charge him."

"So Cromwell hates you and blames you for what happened," Tony noted. "And now he's going after you."

"So it would seem," Ducky confirmed.

"Next stop," Tony announced. "Getting this guy in Interrogation."


	9. Revenge

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! And the description of Lily's dream house is of the house my aunts live in, although they don't have children._

Chapter 9: Revenge

Lily stood in the shadows, feeling they matched her mood perfectly.

They had returned to the conference after learning where Pierre Leraye lived. She had spent a few hours in her room, researching the man, learning everything she could about him. But there was no doubt in her mind that Leraye had been the second of the three men in the Louvre that night.

Which had led her to pretend to retire for the night, thus removing LJ from her room. She had stuffed a bundle of towels under her covers, giving the allusion that she was still in there. It would work as long as no one looked too closely. She knew LJ would check on her a few times in the night. Part of her found it endearing that he actually cared about her enough to want her to live, while another part hated that he knew her so well.

Busting out of the hotel had been as easy as she had found it on the night she had visited the Louvre. The private security guards were expecting an attack from the outside, not for someone to slip away from the inside. Getting back in was a little more tricky, but she could blag her way anywhere.

Her current way in involved a cigarette. She didn't even have to smoke it; just find a discarded end somewhere and pretend to stub it out as she came in. The security guards tended to roll their eyes, but they didn't wonder why no one was with her or why no one had seen her leave.

She was much too good at her job.

And tonight she was going to kill someone.

Despite all she had been through, she did not find it easy to pull the trigger and end a life. It bugged her, and she hoped that niggling feeling would never stop. It reminded her that she was still human, that taking a life was something that should not be done on a regular basis.

Whatever LJ thought, she only killed people who had betrayed her, tried to kill her or got in her way. There were a few other exceptions, mainly if her job required her to or if they had threatened her family. She wasn't some insane serial killer with no qualms.

She rubbed her hand over her forehead. She hated waiting for things. She could summon up patience when she needed to, but today was definitely a bad day.

She had enjoyed toying with LJ at every possible moment. It was her way of showing affection, however much she might want to bash his brains in sometimes. And it was fun as well, which helped. She enjoyed her fun. She was aware that sometimes she was just a big kid with no responsibilities and set free to do whatever she wanted.

The idea of settling down again was scaring her. She loved Alex, she really did, and yet this was so difficult for her. He had been incredibly patient and understanding, and she was determined to go through with this. She just wished that when she got to the church, she wouldn't be thinking about her first marriage.

Brian had been everything to her and she still allowed herself to miss him. He was the first thing on her mind every day, much as she suspected Shannon was still the first thing on LJ's mind. Neither of them would ever get over it completely; they allowed their denial to take control. They didn't want to get over it in a way; it was a reminder of happier times.

If only they could let go of the pain…

She missed her sister. Jenny had always had a calming influence on her, which was part of the reason she was trying to dissuade her sister from moving out. She was less likely to do something stupid with Jenny around.

What she really wanted was for them to have houses next door to each other with a connecting door in-between. Jasper would have more space when he stayed over, the baby twins would have more space to grow up in, and she could harass LJ on a nice regular basis, with somewhere for her to retreat to when necessary.

And she could steal all the food from Jenny's fridge. She wasn't in her apartment for long enough to make it worth hiring some help, and she couldn't cope on her own. Noemi could just make two of everything, and she would run off with it.

She was distracted from her fantasies by the arrival of Pierre Leraye. From the research she had managed to do on the man, she knew he frequented a local bar and tended to stagger home at this hour. If he had any sense, he would change his habits so that no one could cotton onto them, and he wouldn't wander down dark alleyways.

But then again, if he had any sense, he would be expecting some form of retribution over the incident at the Louvre.

She reached slowly for her gun, making sure she did nothing that would draw his attention to her position. This would have to be rapid. If she was caught, there was no telling how much trouble she would be in.

BANG

* * *

Timothy McGee was waiting impatiently for the cell phone trace to kick in. It always seemed to take a little longer when it knew he wanted results fast…

They were trying to locate Frank Cromwell. Ziva was trying to find out about his past, he himself was trying to find out where the man was at the moment, and Tony was out for coffee.

McGee hated it when Tony channeled Gibbs. The boss was a fair man, even with all his glaring and growling. Meanwhile, Tony just tried to be Gibbs, but missed out the kindness that existed underneath. And they all knew it wasn't him really. He would do much better if he just acted normally.

He scowled as the phone trace decided not to cooperate. Great. Tony would be back soon, demanding answers, and he could hardly explain that he had no answers because his computer was having a bad day. He couldn't exactly explain it to Gibbs either, but Gibbs wouldn't tease him like Tony would.

He stared at his computer screen again. Options, options… He could always go to see Abby, who would appreciate his company. Or he could borrow another computer in the squad room. The obvious downside to that option was that Tony would kill him if he used either his or Gibbs' computer, and Ziva looked busy and he didn't want to disturb her. He liked his head on his shoulders and she was clearly not happy with whoever she was talking to on the phone.

But if he went to see Abby, Tony would view it badly. There would be another talk about how Abby was better than him when it came to computers, which both he and Abby had already agreed was rubbish.

After the fiftieth time Tony had bought it up.

Sighing, he gave in. At least this way he would have something for Tony when he returned.

* * *

Ziva David cursed as she slammed the phone down. Some of her contacts really were useless.

Looking up, she was surprised to note that the squad room was empty. She knew Tony had gone for coffee, but that had been over an hour ago, back when she had started her call. If he was yet to return, he had probably met a young woman and was busy spending some time with her. Or was eating somewhere. It was a close call between the two.

And McGee was missing as well. That required less brainpower to think about. He had either gone to see Ducky, who was now attempting to autopsy and look after his mother at the same time, or to see Abby, who was trying to locate Cromwell in her own way.

Nevertheless, she had gathered some important information on their quarry.

After losing his job because of Ducky, Cromwell had joined the mob. From what she could tell, it had been a smart move; the man could no longer practice medicine after the incident, nor could get any kind of job, but the mob needed men and he had been medically trained for a time, which was advantageous.

Over the years, he had solidified his position and moved up in the ranks. He wasn't the head of it, by any means, but he was more confident.

Presumably, that was why he had decided to strike back at Ducky now. Enough time had passed that he would not be immediately connected to it, he had the means at his disposal, and yet revenge was still burning through his veins.

It was not a good combination for them.

She mused. This man was good. He was likely to have several places where he could hide if he needed to, so she was going to have to research some more. He had friends in high places who could shield him in various ways. But they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

She wished for the others to return. There was a lot of work to do and she did not want to have to complete it alone.


	10. Journeys

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! _

Chapter 10: Journeys

Gibbs cursed under his breath as their flight was delayed for another hour.

He was tempted to blame it on Lily, but the redhead was sitting on her suitcase, eyes flitting around the airport. However much she tried to hide it, she was more nervous than alert.

He knew she had got her revenge the previous night. If she hadn't, she would have refused to come back. And it had a little something to do with him checking her bed and finding her missing. He really didn't trust her as far as he could throw her, and with good reason.

She was an accomplished liar, would double cross her own sister to get what she wanted, and loved to blow things up. And yet she was clearly afraid of someone. Someone she was shielding. Why else would she not go after the third person in the Louvre that night? Why else would she still be scared of someone?

He sighed, frustrated. Their plane had been delayed for hours at this point. It didn't help that Lily had booked a flight back that left at a ridiculous hour in the morning, meaning they were both short on sleep. At least the time difference was easier going east to west. He would have to murder her otherwise.

She looked like a little child: obviously tired, half asleep, bored, and nevertheless refusing to drift off into the land of nod. She was curled in on herself as best she could while sitting on a suitcase, and attempting to keep her head upright. Her hair had been slung back in a rough ponytail, a sign that she had little energy left. He knew she didn't particularly like air travel, but she could put up with it. These delays had to be sapping her resolve though.

Somehow, he was supposed to protect her. Her real security detail was lingering close by, but she had deliberately annoyed them all in the last few days so they would give her a little space. He was half tempted to handcuff her to one of her real security detail; the only thing stopping him was that he knew she could slip out of handcuffs.

The hard way.

After he had handcuffed her to his car door to prevent her from chasing after a suspect, only to run into her three minutes later when said suspect was on the ground, dead, and she was holstering her gun.

A cell phone rang and he found himself looking around as everyone nearby patted their pockets to check if it was them. Lily, on the other hand, simply pulled her cell phone out and answered "Shepard."

He wondered who was calling her this time. Possibly Jenny, if she had heard about the delayed flight.

"He was arrested?"

Still could be Jenny, especially as Lily was waiting for the person to tell the rest of the story. With most people, she would just interrupt everywhere.

"Whose bright idea was it to tie him naked to a street lamp?"

He snorted. Presumably, the stag night had been held a day earlier than usual. He was strangely pleased over it, as it meant that Lily couldn't have _him _tied naked to a street lamp.

"Tell the idiot cop that he's getting married tomorrow and I need him at the church."

Ah, yes, Lily's complete hatred of all cops, connected to the fact that they slowed her down. He had once heard her advocating a 'shoot on sight' policy towards them. Thankfully, Jenny had managed to talk her sister out of it.

"Post bail then. Or give me a few hours and I'll come deal with it myself."

He sincerely hoped that the person would post bail. He didn't want to have to restrain Lily from killing a cop. He had a funny feeling she would kill him first and then torture the cop in question.

"Great. I'll call you back when I'm on US soil."

She hung up, before turning her attention to him. He tried not to make it obvious that he was nervous. Lily enjoyed taking out her frustrations on others.

"How much longer before we board?" she whined.

"Not long," he offered. He decided to change the topic before she could lash out. "Guy number three, in the Louvre. Who was he?"

"None of your business," she replied.

"You knew who it was," he pointed out.

"I know a lot of people," she countered. "Some by reputation only. And you don't need to know who this is."

"If it's going to come up again, I need to know," he retorted.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Someone's curious," she teased.

"It's my job to be curious," he commented.

"Curiosity killed the cat," she noted. "But for a while, I was a suspect."

He had never been more thankful when they called their flight.

* * *

Abby Scuito continued to focus on her monitor. She was going to get this guy. She was going to get him.

She had spent time with Ducky's mother and was glad that she appeared no worse for her ordeal. Admittedly, Mrs. Mallard had spent a lot of time complaining about how Donald had not come when she had called and the 'imbecile' had not done as she had ordered. It had made the Goth smile.

And now she was determined to find Frank Cromwell. He was going to rue the day he had crossed Ducky if she had anything to do with it. She wondered what kinds of torture Ziva could perform before Gibbs returned.

Right now, Gibbs was on a flight to Dulles, Lily with him. Abby had been annoyed at the constant delays before takeoff and was keeping a close eye on when the plane was due to land. She had already worked out how long it would take them to traverse the airport, get a cab to the Navy Yard, buy coffee, and make it up to the squad room. She wasn't anxious for his return at all.

She focused harder as her arduous work began to pay off. She had almost got the trace on his phone…

"Yes!" she squealed.

"Got something, Abs?"

She whirled around, surprised that her silver haired fox had made it back before she had predicted, and was disappointing to find Tony standing behind her. She snatched the Caf-Pow from him, and took a long slurp before glaring at him.

"Abs?" he ordered.

"Right, well, I've traced Cromwell's cell phone, which wasn't easy because he's been using an encrypted satellite phone; no idea where he got hold of that beauty, but you really should confiscate it and put it somewhere safe because he doesn't deserve to have one if he goes around ordering the kidnap of defenseless old women, and –"

"Breathe," Tony interrupted.

She obeyed.

"Address?"

She scrawled it down on a post-it before handing it over and taking another slurp of her Caf-Pow. Tony left the room in a hurry, clearly as anxious as she was to apprehend the man.

* * *

Tony DiNozzo stared at the house in front of him. Abby had just reassured him over the phone that Cromwell was still inside.

He wanted to get this guy before Gibbs returned. He wanted to prove that he could run the team as effectively as the Boss did. Although he had to admit that he was ignoring the fact they almost gave up on Mrs. Mallard. He didn't want to be in the same state as Gibbs when he learnt about that.

The week had been stressful and tiring, but he was happy. Ducky's mother was safe, no one had been hurt – except for the Probie, but that had involved a paper cut and he could not be held responsible for it in the slightest – and everything had turned out okay.

He was looking forward to the wedding tomorrow. It would be a nice opportunity to relax and have fun, even though it would be a serious ceremony. He hoped Lily had a few tricks up her sleeve, although he doubted it. This would be her special day and he suspected she would do everything in her power to make it perfect.

He wondered if he would ever get married. He wasn't really one for commitment, but with the right girl he would change. He needed someone special…

Ziva prodded him hard.

"What?!" he hissed.

"Are we going to arrest Cromwell or are we going to stand around all day?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes. "We're just checking that he's not going to make a run for it," he claimed, not willing to admit that he had been thinking.

"Before we go in?" she checked. "Because he will not make a run for it until we enter. How can you judge that from out here?"

"Because I can," he snapped. "Probie, go round the back. Ziva and I can handle the front."

The Probie nodded before setting off. Tony waited until McGee radioed back and then set off.

It was time to end this.


	11. Returning

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! An early update tonight because I have to get up early tomorrow to see my little brother..._

Chapter 11: Returning

Lily decided that she could crawl up the stairs in less time than this elevator was taking. She could probably still do it if the stairs were covered in sharp nails. Had someone deliberately slowed the elevator down?

She'd had a very long journey and was utterly drained. Somehow she needed to pull herself together for her wedding tomorrow. At least in this state of exhaustion she didn't have the energy to worry about anything.

The plane journey had been bad. They had been through some horrific turbulence and the seatbelt sign had been on almost all the time. She had originally wanted to get blind drunk so she wouldn't have to deal with it, but LJ had stopped her. Apparently, looking after a drunken Shepard was not on his To Do list.

So she had resorted to the little things that made her happy. She had tied LJ's shoelaces together, somehow managed to get the chair in front of her to collapse, tripped up four stewardesses, sneezed in a business man's soup, and asked LJ in a very loud voice if he wanted to join the mile high club.

He had threatened to gag her, much to her amusement. It was only a bit of harmless fun! And if he didn't like it, he could have allowed her to get drunk. She might even have managed to sleep for a few hours with some alcohol in her.

Now she had to deal with all her wedding preparations. The idiots she had hired were causing her all kinds of problems and she was longing to deal with them all in her own way. She had a few nail bombs somewhere… And she had an old friend who worked in the IRS. Maybe she could give him a few false tip offs to take her revenge. Not to mention that she could have a few people arrested on trumped up charges.

She was going to need a padded cell when this was over.

The elevator doors opened and she pushed her way out before LJ could move a muscle. Her own coffee cup in hand – purchased naturally by LJ after she had threatened to throw a temper tantrum in the coffee shop – she headed towards the stairs for her sister's office. She needed to talk to someone sane. Having LJ as company was amusing, but she needed a break from him.

She was desperate for some food. She hadn't eaten on the plane because the turbulence had made her feel ill. And LJ had refused to buy her anything at the coffee shop, even after she offered to have his car towed. But Jenny would take her somewhere. Her sister could always do with a break, and it was her job to make sure she took one.

"Director," Cynthia greeted her as she stepped into the outer office. "Did the conference end early?"

Lily didn't bother to correct her. She preferred it when people couldn't work out who she was. Conference? She tried to think. It was probably in MTAC because there hadn't been anything in Jenny's diary before she had gone to Paris.

"We got through everything quicker than we thought we would," she assured the other woman, heading for her sister's office still. "Could you hold my calls for a while?"

"Yes, Director," came the reply.

She grinned as she shut the door behind her. With no chance of any interrupting phone calls, she could get some sleep.

* * *

Gibbs stepped out into Autopsy. He had been told the entire story of Mrs. Mallard's kidnapping by his team, and although he was not happy that they had abandoned the search, he was proud that they had managed to bring in the men responsible.

And now he was going to check up on his friend.

He wished he had known about this while he was in Paris. He would have left Lily to her own devices and come back to sort this whole mess out. He would have supported Ducky while they searched. It hurt to think of his friend all alone during his ordeal.

At least Jenny had been around, and Abby too. He knew the two women would have rallied around Ducky, made sure that he was okay, while also doing everything they could to bring his mother back. Even Lily, with her heart of stone, would have looked after him if she had been present.

He had missed Jenny. He had missed her smile, her laugh and her stubbornness. He had missed her presence and the way she could soothe him with just a hand on his arm. But he had to see Ducky first. Ducky needed to talk about what he had been through and Jenny could wait a little longer.

"Duck," he greeted his friend as he stepped through the doors.

The doctor looked up from a body. "Jethro," he replied. "I take it you managed to survive in the company of Lily."

"Only just," he scowled. "Woman's a nightmare. How are you?"

"Very well, all things considered," Ducky noted. "My mother is back and in one piece, and Frank Cromwell will be behind bars for a while."

Gibbs made a mental note to ask Lily to make sure Cromwell wasn't allowed out for a long time, before banishing the thought to the back of his mind. "Talk to me," he demanded.

Ducky sighed. "I was terrified," he admitted, stepping away from the body. "I thought she was dead. I thought she'd come back to me in several pieces. I couldn't get the image of those meat puzzles out of my head. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her."

Gibbs waited in silence for his friend to continue.

"I went back every night to an empty house, and all I could think about was how I'd failed her," Ducky added.

"How did you fail her?" Gibbs asked.

"I should have protected her," Ducky insisted.

"How? By never sleeping and standing outside her room with a gun? You had a good alarm system. You did everything you could to protect her. You did not fail her."

His friend seemed heartened by the discussion. "Abby is insisting on throwing a party to celebrate my mother's return," he commented. "Although it will have to be after Lily's wedding."

"I'd definitely worry about the wedding first," Gibbs revealed. "Everything should be good after that."

He decided to stay for a little while. He had nothing to do in the squad room except supervise his team, who were supposed to be writing reports but were instead throwing paper airplanes around. He felt he should be dealing with them, but knew he was needed more here for the moment.

* * *

Jenny finally emerged from MTAC, not in the best of moods. SecNav had questioned her on things that were out of her control, and just plain annoyed her. However, snapping at her boss wasn't a smart idea, although her sister made a game of it.

She rubbed her eyes as she crossed the catwalk. Gibbs and Lily were due back soon. They should have been back on American soil early in the morning, but she had found several messages on her voicemail saying that the flight was delayed. All from Lily of course, because Jethro distrusted technology. And Lily was also aware that she would check the apartment's voicemail, while Jethro thought she left it alone because of possible messages from the CIA.

That would be a surprise. Lily never gave out her home number unless she absolutely had to. She didn't mind informants and cranks ringing her cell phone at all hours of the day and night, but went crazy if one of them left a message on her home phone. Generally, she yelled a lot and immediately had her number changed.

And did she inform anyone of the changed number? Did she heck.

With her mind elsewhere, she barely noticed the look of confusion that crossed Cynthia's face as she passed. It wasn't until she opened the door to her office that she realized it meant her sister was around.

"You heard of knocking?" Lily inquired, sounding half asleep as she lay on the couch.

"It's my office," Jenny defended. "Shouldn't you be worrying about your wedding?"

"I can worry about it from here," Lily groaned. "While I was attending your stupid conference, I kept getting these annoying calls about all these little things going wrong."

"Good," Jenny noted.

Lily raised herself off the couch just enough so that she could administer a good glare.

"It's a good omen," Jenny corrected herself. "Things go wrong before the wedding, things will go right after it."

"If you say so," Lily commented, settling down again.

"Would I lie to you?" Jenny questioned.

"You lied to me about you not dating LJ again," Lily immediately answered.

"Only because I wanted you to leave him alone for a while," Jenny pointed out. "Enough. I need to get you ready for this wedding."

"You'll need a straightjacket and some sedatives then," Lily half joked.

Jenny frowned. She knew her sister wanted to go ahead with this. But she needed to face her fear. And it was her job to help her sister in any way possible.


	12. Epilogue

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! Wilderness of Mirrors will start to be posted soon. Just a wedding and a twist before then... I apologise in advance - I couldn't resist._

Chapter 12: Epilogue

Ziva David smiled as she stood in the church. Lilies were everywhere, as Lily's favorite flower. Alex, her soon-to-be husband, was waiting patiently at the altar, dressed in a smart suit.

Everyone was talking softly and generally enjoying themselves. It was to be a small ceremony with only a handful of friends. The Israeli had done a quick head count and come up with a total of twenty one.

And that was not including Lily, who was running slightly late, nor Jenny or Jasper who were with her. The bride would only have the one bridesmaid, while Jasper was the pageboy.

Tony had spent some time trying to explain exactly how this worked, but she was not fussed. She was just happy to be here.

The music started, and she turned around to see Lily in a white dress, her red hair floating around her shoulders. Jenny was wearing a very similar dress and Jasper had a little suit on. She grinned at how cute the boy was. 'Utterly adorable' was the phrase Abby was whispering next to her.

She faced the front as Lily arrived at the altar. This was going to be interesting.

* * *

Gibbs had known Lily for a great many years, which meant he was one of a few who could read her. Not like a book – she wasn't easy to read – but he could get the gist.

And it was clear that she was nervous. Her voice shook slightly as she repeated her vows, her eyes not leaving Alex's. Yet she was also undoubtedly happy at what was happening.

He had half expected her not to turn up at all; the ghosts of her past were very strong. But she had proven him wrong; one of the few times he was glad of it. He was going to tease her over her fear for a long while to come. She deserved it, given how much havoc she caused him.

As the newly married couple kissed, he turned his attention to Jenny. She was smiling, delighted at what had just happened. He wondered if she was starting to think of marriage in their relationship, and made a note to ask her what she wanted. Preferably when Lily wasn't around so she wouldn't interrupt.

He allowed a smile to emerge on his face. He was happy for her.

* * *

Lily stepped out of the church, holding her husband's hand. She felt on top of the world.

She was so glad she had managed to find the courage to go through with this. It felt right, as though everything was going to be perfect. She didn't want to leave Alex's side for the rest of her life.

She rested her head on his shoulder, which drew a slight chuckle from him.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I know," he replied. "I love you too."

CRACK

She froze, recognizing the sound as a sniper. What?! Who was after her now?

And then Alex slumped to the ground. She supported him as best she could, but he was lying on the floor, blood pouring from his chest. She rested his head in her lap, using both of her hands to try to staunch the flow of blood. Her mind was spinning. She could hear people shouting in the distance, but she couldn't make out the words.

How could this be happening again? First Brian, now Alex…

He tried to say something to her, but he could not get the words out. The life drained from him as he lay in her arms…

She threw back her head, allowing the cry to escape her throat.

"This is not happening!"

THE END…


End file.
